What are your ideal/realistic/fringe free agents for the Toronto Raptors?

As the title asks. Depending on the deals made on draft night and whether or not the team brings back Gary Trent Jr. – among other UFAs like Jordan Nwora – this could be the last time the Toronto Raptors have notable cap space. As such, let's talk about some of the ideal, realistic and fringe candidates for the Toronto Raptors to pursue in this (admittedly weak) free agency class.

For those looking for a list of the upcoming free agency class, look no further: https://www.spotrac.com/nba/free-agents/_/year/2024

Note that some players may have team/player options that they or their teams may decline.

Here's just an example of one for each category that I would consider ideal, realistic and fringe targets for us to go after.

Ideal: O.G. Anunoby

Why: It's O.G. Anunoby, I really hope I don't need to explain his defensive impact of how desirable his 3-point is. He's arguably the best wing defender in the league and while him being able to guard 1-5 carries some asterisks such as not being the ideal matchup for the most dominant bigs in the league like Embiid, Jokic or Giannis, he's highly capable as the definition of a two-way wing. The Raptors really need more depth on…well everywhere but especially on the wings as their defense has been significantly worse ever since they've lost both O.G. and Siakam.

Also it would be very funny if the Knicks lost him for nothing.

Why it won't happen: O.G. may be the ideal candidate but ideal doesn't mean he's remotely a gettable target; he could be seen as the ideal candidate for early every team in need of a two-way wing which is…a lot of teams in this league, many of whom will either try to pry him away or will aim for Jerami Grant should the Blazers be willing to part with him. Put another way, there's simply no realistic path to Toronto acquiring him for what he'll command in free agency despite him being a perfect fit.

Beyond the injury concerns, even if the Raptors cleared up as much cap space as possible while still holding on to Quickley as an RFA, and this is including trading Boucher to a cap space team, Toronto's best offer would still fall short of what the Knicks can pay Anunoby – and there's zero chance of a sign and trade when teams like Philly or the Pistons can simply go after him with their own offers of roughly $40 million.

Realistic: Jalen Smith*

^(\Smith has a player option)*

Why: On paper, a career-high in FG% – notably a 42% rate from behind the arc on admittedly low volume of 2.4 3s a game – PER and points plus improved defense would make Jalen Smith an attractive stretch 4/5 option, with the size to play time at the 5 in a pinch for a team that desperately needs more size. He's not particularly strong but he is long and his outside shooting would be a welcome option on offense.

Why it won't happen: Smith's 2023/24 season states belie how…inconsistent overall the year was for him. Yes his defense was better but it was still far from ideal, there's still questions about whether he should commit to the 4 or 5 full-time and while some of his playoff struggles can be attributed to him not fully recovering from injury, his shooting splits shrinking across the board was far from ideal.

More notable is that if the Raptors wanted Jalen, they could have simply asked for him as part of the (thus far underwhelming) Siakam trade, though one could argue that the draft capital/light protections on said picks and lower cap hold of Jordan Nwora was preferred since it was well known that Smith would be entering free agency this offseason with a player option he's 99% going to decline.

Fringe: Patrick Williams**/Isaac Okoro**

^\*Patrick Williams and Isaac Okoro are restricted free agents, provided their team gives them a qualifying offer)

Why they're a fringe target(s): I threw in this category as a sort of "Not my preferred target but I don't hate it even if I think there's a low chance of it actually happening" category.

Patrick Williams is a name that's been suggested as a potential target for cap teams to go after due to how close the Bulls are to the tax and their owner being a notorious cheapskate who's only paid the luxury tax once (Or at least one iteration of the same team in the D-Rose Bulls) in Chicago's history. In theory, he's a young, 3 & D wing that the team needs to take on tougher defensive assignments alongside Scottie Barnes at the 3/4. Plus, it is worth bringing up that other Bulls draftees have thrived when given a greater opportunity (though granted with Lauri Markkanen it took him being traded from the Bulls to the Cavs and then to the Jazz for him to realize his potential and Wendell has had injury issues).

Along similar lines has Isaac Okoro's name cropped up as the Cavaliers are looking to be deep in to the luxury tax pending a Donovan Mitchell extension/a trade of one of their All-Star-caliber players in Darrius Garland or Jarrett Allen. Unlike Williams, Okoro had something of a career year as he's entering in to free agency as he shot roughly 39% from 3 on 3 attempts per game. It was a respectable uptick for a player who already excelled as a good wing defender with question marks about his offense.

Why it won't happen: They're still restricted free agents and historically, even teams who don't consider a player to be part of their long-term will still match the offer sheet and simply move the player at a later time, albeit with a asterisk as the player in question has a pseudo no-trade clause for the season and cannot be traded whatsoever for around 6 months.

It's a significant risk to lock up the amount of cap space it may take to pry away one or the other away from their respective teams and that could mean the difference between getting a player and not should the Cavs or Bulls wait to match said offer at the last minute.

It's also worth pointing out that Patrick Williams – who received Kawhi Leonard comparisons when first drafted – has only lived up to those comparisons in that he frequently battled injuries up to this point in his thus far young career. Additionally, just because most of the Bulls young draftees went on to work out for the teams that traded for them i.e. Wendell Carter Jr. and Lauri Markkanen, it doesn't mean whoever drafts Patrick will automatically become the next great success story/failure for Chicago and its awkward state of limbo.

A lot of Patrick's appeal is in theory because the player he has been, even when healthy, has been remarkably inconsistent at both the 3 and D part of 3 & D wing.

Honorable Mentions:

Re-sign Gary Trent Jr. – Continuity is an underrated component of team building when it comes to building team culture and identity. Aside from Trent, Poeltl and Boucher, every member of the Raptors team from the prior season is gone. Also without Gary, this team's 3-point shooting will be wholly reliant on RJ's outside shooting from this season staying the same as well as internal improvement/draft additions to account for the lack of volume that Trent provides. He's a flawed SG to be sure and his effort on defense has been a source of frustration for 2 seasons and counting but when his shot is falling, he really opens up the floor for Scottie – and Barnes does the same for him as a Scottie/Gary DHO has one of the highest PPP in the league; in 2022/23 it was 6th highest in points per possessions.

Nic Claxton (But only if the Raptors really do trade Poeltl) – If the Raptors want to continue on with the lack of continuity and just…completely remake the roster in one season then I guess there's trading Poeltl for some asset(s) and tampering to acquire Nic Claxton is an option? Claxton has similar problems as Poeltl i.e. his free throw shooting makes it hard to keep him on the floor in close games, and he's not as good of a passer but Nic is younger, a notably more athletic defender at the center position who has at least shown a willingness to take the occasional 3…even if he isn't making them very often. I still don't think trading Poeltl is a good idea unless you're getting a "too stupid to pass up" offer because of that aforementioned continuity and this front office is seemingly allergic to tampering which, to be blunt, is probably the only way it makes sense to move Jakob i.e. having a guaranteed replacement via signing Nic or the other notable center free agent target in Isaiah Hartenstein.